1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a document creation apparatus having a function of dividing and copying double-page spread documents, a document creation method and a recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, an image forming apparatus has been proposed that, when there is an element arranged straddling right and left pages or top and bottom pages of a double-page spread document such as a book, is capable of printing or saving as image data the element without dividing the element (e.g., see JP 2005-303740A).
In the case where an instruction has been input for separately forming the images on right and left pages or top and bottom pages of the double-page spread document, the image forming apparatus disclosed in JP 2005-303740A determines whether there is an element arranged straddling right and left pages or top and bottom pages. If the determination result is affirmative, the image forming apparatus outputs the document image data without dividing the document image data, and if the determination result is negative, it supplies the document image data to an image dividing unit, generates divided image data representing images obtained by dividing the document image into two portions, namely, right and left portions or top and bottom portions, and outputs the divided image data.
Here, with reference to FIGS. 10A to 10C, the concept of a double-page spread document such as a book will be described.
FIG. 10A is a conceptual diagram of a double-page spread document such as a book, and FIG. 10B is a conceptual diagram of a one-page document.
In the double-page spread document shown in FIG. 10A, separate images are respectively printed on the right and left pages, and a book is formed by folding the document in two at a blank portion at the center thereof.
On the other hand, there are cases in which one page-worth of image as shown in FIG. 10B, for example, is printed straddling the right and left pages of a double-page spread document. In this case, the book is folded in two at a central portion thereof where an image is formed.
That is, some books include both a two-page document as shown in FIG. 10A in which separate images are respectively printed on two pages of a double-page spread, and a one-page document as shown in FIG. 10B in which a single image is printed straddling two pages.
When a double-page spread document such as a book that includes both two-page documents and one-page documents as double-page spreads is copied, it is inevitable that the central portion of the opened pages (namely, the folded portion of the book) cannot be placed in contact with the platen of the image forming apparatus, and thus as shown in FIGS. 10A and 10C, a shadow 150 having a constant width may appear at that portion, namely, the central portion (folded portion) that is to be a division position.
When a double-page spread document which causes the shadow 150 having a constant width in the central portion (folded portion) thereof is divided and copied, with the technique disclosed in JP 2005-303740A, this shadow 150 in the folded portion makes it difficult to divide the document image into elements, and makes it difficult to determine that the document is a double-page spread. On the other hand, in the case where the portion of the shadow 150 having a constant width is determined to be an element, the document image shown in FIG. 10A, which actually should be dividable, may be determined to be not dividable.
That is, although the document image should actually be dividable, the determination result is affirmative (that is, it is determined that there is an element at the division position), and thus a two-page document on which separate images are respectively printed on two pages of the double-page spread may be output as a one-page document without dividing the document image.